United States Navy Fleet Admiral. His naval career spanned more than 60 years (1905 to 1966), with his pinnacle being as the commander of the United States Pacific Fleet during World War II. He entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1901 and graduated seventh in the 1905 class. His early naval career was involved with submarine warfare and included a number of years in the Orient which would prove beneficial in the later war years. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December 1941, he was given command of the Pacific Fleet. The Battle of Midway was considered to be one of his and the United States Navy’s greatest victories. During the formal Japanese surrender ceremony on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Admiral Nimitz accepted the Japanese surrender for the United States. Admiral Nimitz received numerous decorations and awards from the United States including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American and National Defense Service Medals, and the World War II Victory Medal. Additionally, Admiral Nimitz received decorations or awards from more than a dozen foreign governments. Post-war years saw Chester Nimitz become a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations. Admiral Nimitz championed the development of jet aircraft as well as other technologies. The United States Navy named an entire class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in his honor as well as the first of these which directly bears his name.
Source: Find a grave